Applied Professional Experience (APEX)

At the end of their first year, students participate in an 8-week internship at GSDM-approved private practices or community health centers. Through a combination of written assignments, seminars and experiential learning, students learn about practice management, patient communication, social determinants of health and oral health inequities. Students also explore the roles of the dental and health care team and the U.S. dental care delivery system, as well as perform a series of observational and hands-on activities that reinforce their knowledge and application of the production and evaluation of intraoral radiographs, patient evaluation, caries risk assessment, patient centered counseling and preventive dentistry.